


Howl

by greeneyedorca



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, I dont really know, M/M, Paranormal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-10 23:06:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15959483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeneyedorca/pseuds/greeneyedorca
Summary: If you could only see the beast you've made of meI held it in but now it seems you've set it running freeScreaming in the dark, I howl when we're apartDrag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heartA SouMako werewolf AU





	Howl

**Author's Note:**

> this is mostly just a writing practice but if you like it let me know? <3

To say that last night had been odd would be a terrible understatement. After what should have been an unremarkable walk to the convenience store had turned into a late-night game of “where’s Sousuke?”; partially in thanks to a certain Australia returnee, Makoto was beyond fatigued. Of course, the cherry on top of the chaotic night, was that now it was time to return to his own home and the brunet could not locate his house key. To wake his family would obviously be a sin most egregious, leaving the only logical solution to be tracing his steps to find the missing key. With a heavy sigh he began to backtrack, using the screen of his phone to illuminate his path and quickening his pace. 

He’s never been one with nerves of steel or as tough as his large appearance made him seem, especially if one didn’t take a moment to talk to him and realize just exactly how timid he could be, and in this instant, his walking pace was not fast enough to keep him away from the slightest of movements and sounds echoing off in the wooded areas nearby, so the sooner he could unlock his door and go home, the better. Makoto’s mind was already wandering to all of the possible ghosts and creatures lurking in the darkest corners of the night. 

“There’s nothing out there,” he quietly assured himself half heartedly, “just find your house-key and go home. It’s not a big deal.”

Even in his mind, his inner voice was trembling; no amount of logical thinking could possibly talk him out of this amount growing panic. 

Crack. Crunch. 

Hairs on the back of Makoto’s neck raised on end and his heartbeat was accelerating, pushing adrenaline through his bloodstream and bracing for a fight or the fastest run he could manage. He broke into a full sprint, too on edge to bother looking for his missing key anymore, purely focused on one thing only; getting the fuck away from whatever was in the dark. It didn’t matter where he ended up either, maybe he’d run to Haru’s house? Or to Samezuka? Both were nearby, and were considered to be dramatically safer than alone in the woods in the dark past midnight. But the rustling continued to get louder and louder, as if it was stalking him as he sprinted in directions unknown. The dirt and rock path that he had initially been following had been long gone, making way only for small clearings and gaps amongst the overgrown grass and looming canopy of trees. 

“Tachibana! Wait!”

That voice. He knew that voice, and it certainly didn’t didn’t belong to some sort of beast who was hellbent on consuming his flesh. But it also sounded more...rough? Something about that familiar voice was certainly off. His legs slowed down and he dare to turn his head over his shoulder, trying to place a body to the voice. 

“Yamazaki..? Didn’t we just find you…?” Confusion and relief scattered in the brunets voice as he finally fully turned to face the other as he emerged from the overgrowth.  
Sousuke straightened his back and dusted himself off. He was covered from head to toe in dirt and leaves, and his shirt was notably missing in contrast to how he appeared only shortly beforehand. He kept a wild look in his eyes, darting back and forth before hazily trying to focus on Makoto, brows furrowed.

“That’s not important right now, you really really need to go home.” 

“I’m trying, I don’t know where my house key went… Are you ok? You look like you got in a fight with mother nature. Do you need help?” 

Sousuke was becoming clearly more agitated by the second with how Makoto was obviously slipping into mother mode. A deep growl emanated from his chest, unnatural and loud, causing Makoto to stumble backwards slightly in surprise. Seemingly regretful of his action, or maybe in equal amounts of surprise as the brunet across from him, Sousuke’s expression immediately softened from aggression into something more close to regret. 

“Listen, you really shouldn’t be out here alone, Tachibana. I’m serious. Go home. I’m fine. Just go.”

“At least let me take you back home again. If I shouldn’t be out here alone, then neither should you.”

Never had Sousuke been so profoundly annoyed with someone caring for him. He growled again, but the other seemed somewhat unphased this time, only raising an eyebrow as he grabbed on to Sousuke’s arm as a kind gesture, trying to lead him out of the darkness and back to the comfort of his dorm. He was too frustrated to even find words to argue, and truthfully, his mind was swirling with senses and feelings he couldn’t quite place. He couldn’t even find the words to properly warn the Iwatobi captain of what truly had happened only moments prior to their meeting; the notion was there but when he tried to speak the words were nowhere to be found. Makoto continued to lecture him as they walked back towards Samezuka, but Sousuke was hardly listening, still trying to sort through the mess of his thoughts. He struggled to remember the events of the evening, and the mood looming overhead seemed to only distort his memory more for reasons he did not understand. Maybe it was because that thing that had attacked him. There’s no way he could tell Makoto about it though, for fucks sake, his injuries had healed and it had only been maybe half an hour? He simply could not explain that, so maybe he’d just imagined the whole thing. But his body ached as proof that he could not deny. He walked in stoic silence back to the school grounds, only trying to focus on the brunets voice. But as they reached the edge of the campus, his feet froze, unable to step any further, overwhelmed with a sense of danger. 

Not safe. Run. Run. Keep running. Get away. 

He was faintly aware of Tachibana still talking somewhere nearby, tugging him towards the campus gently. But every fiber of his being was screaming to get away. He erupted into a loud snarl, swatting Makoto’s hands away as he snapped back into reality from his dissociated state. But as he grounded himself, Sousuke was overwhelmed with guilt; Makoto stood wide-eyed in front of him, cradling his own arm, where four bloodied lines slashed his flesh, a look of confusion and terror running rampant on his soft face. Sousuke could not comprehend what had happened, only piecing it together as he looked down at his own hands, where his nails had lengthened and sharpened into a more claw-like form. 

The shorter male looked down at his wound slowly in pure bewilderment, lifting his arm to examine it more closely. It ached and burned like his arm had been set ablaze, a bead of blood dripping down onto the cold cement. His gaze rose again to meet Sousuke’s, finding his pupils to be blown and body tense, panting. But in their tense silence, neither could find a coherent thought amongst their loud and buzzing minds. 

“You didn’t have to lash out at me.” 

Ah, shit. He’s got that pouty cute sad-eyed bullshit going on.

“I’ll just go. It’s pretty clear you want to be alone.”

Sousuke stammered and stumbled for words, only able to spew a series of small “I’m sorry”s as Makoto stormed off. While they didn’t know each other very well, to see someone who always seemed so sweet and patient hurt and looking so betrayed sent a shot of intense guilt through Sousuke’s very core. To follow him might only lead to another incident though, and he didn’t quite understand what had just happened himself. In the pale moonlight he rose his hand up, the offending claw-like nails still ever present. This was going to take quite a bit more explaining than he knew how to handle, nor did he understand himself.

The walk back home for Makoto was one filled with confusion and frustration. Why did Yamazaki hurt him? Sure, they weren’t exactly close friends, but he certainly didn’t count him as an enemy either. Maybe he crossed a boundary? But still, he didn’t have to injure him, a simple verbal warning would have been more than sufficient, right? The outburst was as hurtful as it was baffling, and the day had already gone on for far too long. He’d just swallow his guilt and knock at the door. Waking his family was normally just too terrible for him to do, but after recent event, he couldn’t take any more and just wanted to get some sleep. He approached the door and knocked, all while cradling his injured arm, waiting until eventually Ran groggily opened the door.

“Nii-chan! It’s so late!” she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she held the door open. Makoto winced with a twinge of guilt as he entered his home.

“I know, I had something come up. But thank you for letting me in, let’s get you back to bed, ok?” 

He smiled softly and pulled the girl up into his arms, carrying her back into her room and tucking her back into bed, careful to not wake his brother in the process. The house was always eerily quiet at night; the consistent sounds of the twins babbling and bickering, the kitchen always had something cooking, and the constant noise became a comfort to Makoto, so when everyone was asleep, the silence always made him uneasy. The floors creaked below his feet as he silently crept up to his room, seeking the first aid kit in the top of his closet. As he reached for the small white box, however, he took note of his injury, or rather, lack thereof. It had seemingly healed almost entirely, save for the discolored scar tissue that had taken its place. A confused gasp fell from his lips as he examined the scars, gently touching the area simply to confirm that this wasn’t some sort of light trick or illusion. 

What should I do? Did I imagine it? Makoto was absolutely dumbfounded; no matter how many times he blinked, the open wounds were simply gone. His eyes never left his arm as he threw himself on his bed. This makes no sense... it still burns, so why is there nothing there? Nothing seemed to ease his mind and the lack of an explanation had Makoto questioning his perception of reality as he lay in bed. He’d go apologize to Yamazaki in the morning, maybe he could get some semblance of an explanation in the process as well. 

\----

There were some things that no matter how hard one would try, could not be simply explained by natural phenomenons alone. Sousuke was never one to believe in the paranormal, but he wouldn’t be caught provoking ghosts or hunting for monsters to prove others wrong either. He was perfectly content in not knowing what things went bump in the night, so these wildly vivid images of some sort of beast lunging at him only hours before were naturally troubling. He’d been nearly dragged back up to his dorm by a concerned campus security guard and then promptly greeted by a worried Rin as soon as he stepped foot in the door. 

“Where were you? I woke up and you were gone again!”

Sousuke could manage little more than a grunt, which Rin met with an annoyed glare. 

“You can’t just keep vanishing like that, you could get hurt! People worry about you! If you need some time alone then at least let someone know where you are going. For fucks sake.”  
Rin rubs his temples and sits on the edge of his bunk, still being met with Sousuke’s silence. He can’t get a read on the taller male and it’s infuriating. But there’s so many more questions he has that he knows he won’t get answers to right now, like where the hell is your shirt and when did you end up with scars across your ribs. Sousuke shifts his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably and keeps his gaze glued to the floor.  
“I don’t know what to tell you. I’m sorry. We’ll talk in the morning, ok?” Sousuke offers an apologetic smile that Rin can only grimace at how forced it looks.

“Fine. But you aren’t getting out of this one. Oh, and Sousuke?”

“Yeah?”

“Go take a shower. You smell like dog.”


End file.
